Improving access to energy gives people power. Not just electrical power, but the power to change their lives. It enables them to become more prosperous, more stable, more educated, and healthier. At Sirona, we believe energy access can make an important and on-going difference in the lives of the world’s poor.

THE PROBLEM: ENERGY POVERTY

In developing countries, many people live in energy poverty with little or no access to electricity. And, tragically, when they can get energy, they pay more on average per kilowatt than those of us in developed countries.

The impact of energy poverty is enormous. It forces families to spend an inordinate amount of time looking for fuel such as firewood to cook with. It means they must pay money they can’t afford for kerosene to light and heat their homes. It requires them to live with the pollution of these dirty fuels inside their houses. And it means they have no way to meet secondary energy needs for things like refrigeration or reading lights.

1.6 billion people worldwide – that’s 1 in 6 – live without access to electricity.

OUR SOLUTION: ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

The solution to energy poverty isn’t cheaper kerosene or more wood to burn – it’s cleaner, more sustainable alternatives that give people the energy they need at a price they can afford. That’s what Sirona is all about: clean, affordable energy for the world’s rural poor. It’s all about giving people the power to improve their own lives.

SOLAR

Our small-scale solar solutions convert the sun’s energy into electricity that can be used to generate light for reading, charging cell phones, and powering other devices. Each location is both self-sustaining and run completely locally.

BIOFUEL

Our biofuel solution uses oil from the seeds of the jatropha plant as a drop-in alternative to diesel in engines and generators. What’s left over can be used as a charcoal replacement. The plants reduce deforestation while they grow and jobs are created for local farmers.